Can opener



Aug. 17, 1948. T. w. COSTELLO- CAN OPENER Filed Feb. 5, 1947 I InventorThomas W. Cosfllo Fig, 5.

Patented Aug. 17, 1948 UNITED STATES TENT OFFICE.

CAN OPENER Y Thomas W. Costello, Everett, Wa sh.

Application February 5, 1947, Serial No. 726,668

This invention relates to a can opener, and more particularly to thetype of opener that cuts the top out of a can.

The primary object of the invention is to effect a clean, smooth outthrough the top or end closure of an ordinary type food containerwithout leaving slivers of metal or rough edges which are liable toinjure the user.

Another object is to easily and quickly cut the top completely out ofthe ordinary type of food-containing can.

The above and other objects may be attained by employing this inventionwhich embodies among its features a wall bracket, a holder adapted to beremovably attached to the wall bracket, a cutter at the upper edge ofthe holder, a traction wheel adapted to advance a can into cuttingengagement with the cutter, a hand crank for rotating the tractionwheel, means to positively advance the traction wheel toward the cutterduring its initial rotation, and means to sustain the traction wheel insuch advanced position, but out of engagement with the initial advancingmeans while the wheel is being rotated to complete the cutting of thetop out of the can.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a side view in elevation of a can opener embodying thefeatures of this invention,

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line2--2 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 looking in the direction of thearrows 3-3 in Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially on the line4-4 of Figure 3,

Figure 5 is a fragmentary side view of the holder and cutter, showingthe traction wheeladvancing means as being formed separately from theholder,

Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially on the line66 of Figure 5.

Referring to the drawings in detail, a wall plate I which is ofsubstantially rectangular shape is provided adjacent its four cornerswith openings for the reception of screws I I by which the plate isadapted to be attached to a wall or other vertically extending support.This wall plate is provided with oppositely extending U- shapedincisions I2 forming tongues I3 which are adapted to be bent outwardlyand overlie attaching flanges on the holder or bracket to be more fullyhereinafter described. Somewhat similar U-shaped incisions I4 arearranged in opposed relation to the incisions l2 and these lastincisions define tongues I which are adapted to be bent outwardly toform side guides for engage- 1 Claim. (Cl. 30-8) ment' with the sideedges of the brackets previously referred to.

The bracket previously referred to is designated generally Iii andcomprises a shank member II having formed at its rear edge laterallyextending tongues I8 which are adapted to be removably engaged with theplate It! beneath the tongues I3 and between the tongues I5 thereon. Itwill thus be seen that the bracket I6 will be held in averticalposition. Formed at the end of the shank II opposite that carryingthetongues I8 is a head 2!! which is substantially square in plan andcarries at its upper end a projection 2I which extends upwardly andisbent back upon itself, as at 2,2, to form a depending cutter member23, the lower edge 24 of which is sharpened and inclined, as shown inFigure 1, to form a cutter by which the top of a can which is pressedinto contact therewith may be easily and quickly severed from the can.Formed in the head in vertical alignment with the longitudinal axis ofthe extension 2| and blade 24 is a vertically extending slot 25 into theupper end of which opens a slot 26 which extends horizontally so thatthe two slots form a substantially inverted L-shaped slot in which theaxle shaft of the traction wheel to be more fully hereinafter describedis adapted to ride. Formed in the head 20 and extending toward the shankI1 is a pair of spaced incisions 21 which are joined with a group ofzig-zag incisions 28 formed in the head 20 to produce a tongue 29 havingan arcuate row of teeth 30 formed in the end thereof. This tongue 29 isbent outwardly, as illustrated in Figure 2, so that the teeth 30 whichproject toward the slot 25 lie in a plane different from that of thegeneral plane of the head 20.

It is apparent that should it be so desired, the tongue 29 may bereplaced by a plate 29a which may be riveted as at 29b to the side ofthe head and that the plate 29a may be formed with an arcuate row ofteeth 30a as shown in Figure 5.

Extending through the slot 25 or 26 is an axle shaft 3| carryingadjacent one end of a crank arm 32 having a crank handle 33 at itsextreme end, and on the opposite side of the head 20 the axle shaft 3Ihas fixed thereto a traction wheel 34, the peripheral edge of which isserrated, as at 35, and when the wheel is advanced toward the cutter 23,the serrated edge rides in alignment with the space between the cutterand the head, as will .be appreciated from reference to Figure 2. Itwill be noted upon reference to Figure 1 that the teeth 30 on the tongue29 engage the peripheral serrations 35 of the wheel 34 when the axis ofthe axle shaft 3| aligns with the longitudinal axis of the slot 25, butwhen the axle shaft moves upwardly and then transversely into the slot26, the serrations 35 of the wheel 34 will .be moved out of engagementwith the teeth 30 so that the wheel may be freely rotated.

In operation, when it is desired to open a can, the outer crimped edgeof the upper end of a can is placed between the serrated periphery ofthe wheel 34 and the lower edge 24 of the cutter 23, it being assumedthat the axle shaft 3| is in its lowermost position in the slot 25. Uponrotating the axle shaft and wheel 34 by means of the handle 33, theteeth 39 engaging the peripheral teeth 35 of the wheel 34 will cause thewheel to positivel move upwardly, carrying the can with it so as toforce the end closure of the can against the sharpened edge 24 of thecutter 23. Upon continued motion of the wheel, the frictional contact ofthe periphery thereof against the bead at the upper end of the can willcause the axle shaft 3| to move into the horizontal slot 26 so that uponfurther movement of the crank 33 the wheel will clear the teeth 30 and.may be continuously operated until the upper end of the can has beenrotated 360 around the periphery thereof with the cutter 23 cutting theentire top out of the can in this manner. Upon reversing the motion ofthe wheel 34, the axle shaft 3| will be returned to its former positionat the upper end of the slot 25, which will cause the serrations 35 ofthe wheel 34 to mesh with the teeth 30 on the rack tongue 29 and thusretract the wheel and restore it to position to repeat the operation.Such retraction of the wheel will facilitate the removal of the openedcan from contact with the cutter 23 and the device is then ready for arepetition of the operation just outlined.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferredembodiment of this invention, it is to be understood that minor changesin the details of construction, combination and arrangement of partsmaybe resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as claimed.

I claim:

A can opener comprising a holder, a stationary cutter carried by theupper edge of the holder, said holder having a vertical slot in axialalignment with the vertical axis of the cutter and also having ahorizontal slot opening into the upper end of the vertical slot, an axleshaft rotatable in the slots, a traction wheel carried by the axleshaft, an annular series of peripheral teeth on the wheel adapted toengage a cam and rotate it against the cutter, and a stationary rackcarried by the holder and adapted when the axle shaft is in the verticalslot to engage the teeth on the wheel and advance the traction wheeltoward the cutter as the axle shaft is rotated in one direction.

THOMAS W. COSTELLO.

REFERENCES CITED 9 The following references file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS are of record in the Curtis Jan. 9, 1940

